Nutrition...

Question
Hi Heather,
What kind of diet should a hamster have? The food I feed my hamster is called, "Nutriphase Gold." Is this a good brand? What brand do you feed your hamsters? How many fresh fruits and veggies should they get a week?
Sarah

Answer
I use Pet Supplies Plus bulk food, the Mardi Gras variety. It has pellets, dried fruit, sunflower seeds, colorful veggie crunchies, pumpkin seeds, and a whole lot of good stuff. As long as the food your feeding has a great variety like that, your hamster will love it. Some brands of food are pellet or puff only based diets, and I don't know why they bother. Hamsters need to be able to have a mix, and not just one type of ingredient. Plus bulk food lets you buy food by weight, so you can get 5 pounds of food ot just a half, and the Mardi Gras mix I use is only 1.49 a pound. If you have a Pet Supplies Plus in your area, I highly recommend it.
     As for fresh foods, I would only give maybe 1/2 of a cup a week, if even that. Too much fresh food can lead to wet tail. Think of fresh foods as a snack and not a supplement. I only give my hamster fresh foods every 2 weeks or so, whenever I think about it, and not one has ever suffered wet tail.